WHIT signed on in 1942 as the first radio station in Craven County, North Carolina. The letters stood for "Where Hospitality Is Traditional".[2] Later, WHIT was a country station. However, WHIT was a successful Top-40 station in the 70's, taking advantage of the "HIT" moniker.
In 1982, what was then WJQI "Radio Joy" hired Bill Benjamin, who left after the station was sold the next year. Benjamin was asked in 1988 by investors to manage the station and be one of the owners of what by then was WNOS; the transaction never happened.[3]